Down in the Valley
by thetatteredbrush
Summary: Motivated by the letter left by his grandfather, Francis quits his job at Joja Corp. to move back and rebuild his grandfather's farm. Will a city boy adjust to life on the farm and a new home? TAGS: Farming, Stardew Valley, OC x Haley
1. Chapter 1: Convenient

Hello! This is my first attempt at a fanfiction based off the adventure of my character in Stardew Valley, so please enjoy! Critique is much appreciated.

 _Bump._ Francis woke with a jerk as the bus hit another pothole. He yawned and rolled his neck and shoulders to get rid the kink that had developed from his awkward sleeping position. He sighed as he gazed out the window of the bus traveling down the highway. It was early in the morning, 6:00 AM. They had been traveling for six hours now, it was a late night and the bus driver, Pam, had only bothered to stop once for gas.

' _Stardew Valley, huh gramps?_ ', he thought. Francis still had troubling processing that it had been barely 48 hours since he quit his job for _Joja Corp_. after he read the letter left to him from his grandfather before he had passed away. He dug into his bag until he found it and fished it out, he read the letter stating that his grandfather had left him the deed to his farm. He cursed himself for waiting so long to open it.

" _Wait until the time is right."_ were his final words. Not a 'I love you' or 'take care', it left Francis frustrated and sad at the time, but now at the age of 24 he understood. Jojo Corp was a steel trap with steak platter and fat paycheck as bait. Attract. Trap. Kill. Kill the will to have any amount of energy and hope for the future what-so-ever.

He sighed again as he tucked the letter back into his bag. It had been years since he last came to the Valley. Much against his grandfather's wishes, Francis's dad had moved him into a nursing home closer to the city, where he had passed away. The last trip he could remember… He had to be at least 12. Francis had spent a lot of time playing and helping on his grandfather's farm. He gave a small smile as he remembered hide and seek in the corn stalks.

"We'll be there in about an hour, hon".

Hearing Pam's hoarse voice caused Francis to jump in his seat. He became flustered and hoped Pam didn't notice, but the chuckle coming from the front dashed that hope. "Um… okay." He replied. _'I hope this is worth it…'_

The rest of the ride was uneventful, some occasional billboards or plants. He looked out again and saw one billboard read: "Stardew Valley, 1.5 miles" He was starting to get nervous and began to fidget. Francis had hated his job at _Joja,_ but everything about it was familiar. He knew nothing about Stardew Valley, would he be able to succeed as a farmer and make friends? Francis supposed he could make a living as a hermit in the woods…

As the bus drove into a tunnel, he tried to reassure himself, _'I'll be fine… it'll take a while to get use to everything, but I'll become accustomed to everything.'_ He knew he was going to be sore as hell the first couple of months. He wasn't out of shape or anything, but he certainly wasn't the typical farmer body either. Francis looked down at his waist and tried to picture a six-pack. He shook his head, forcing him to push his glasses back up to his brown eyes. He took another deep breath and ran his hand through his almost black, dark brown hair as he saw the light at the end of tunnel draw closer.

Francis started to hear some clanking and Pam swearing underneath her breath when the bus pulled out of the tunnel. He heard the engine sputter and die and awkwardly waited as the bus slowly rolled to a stop in front of the bus wait. _'Convenient…'_

There's the first chapter, I hoped you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2: The Farm

Here's the second chapter, please enjoy!  
(I need to stop writing these in one in the morning…)

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Pam coughed, "Sorry about that kid, she just doesn't run like she used to, truth be told, I expected us to break down about 30 miles ago, good thing she held, huh?" She gave a dry chuckle as the doors swung open. Francis grabbed his bags and suitcase, thanked Pam, and walked down the ramp to the outside, it felt good to walk again.

As he stretched, he noticed a woman approaching him, she had to be in her early 40's and was average height, but well built. _'Probably involved in some sort of trade skill.'_ Francis thought as he watched the woman approach him, her orange hair bouncing behind her, tied in a pony-tail.

"Hi!" She gave him a bright smile. "You must be Francis right?" He gave a curt nod in reply.

"Yep."

"Good, right on time." She looked over Francis's shoulder to see bus, smoke coming out of it and gave a quick wave to Pam as she came down the ramp. "Here, let me help you with your bags and I'll show you to your farm, Lewis is there already, tidying up."

Before Francis could even say anything, the woman had grabbed his suitcase and started walking away. She turned around to face him, "Well, hurry up." He nodded quickly and trailed behind her.

"I'm Robin, by the way." She said over her shoulder.

"Francis." He replied curtly.

"Not one much for words?" Leah replied looking at him as they walked down the trail.

Francis felt his face turn red as he realized he's probably been sounding rude. "No, it's not that, I'm sorry. Just been crazy the past couple of days plus the long bus ride, I'm just a little tired, that's all." 

Robin nodded, "I understand, Pam isn't always the greatest of company. Once Lewis settles everything, you'll be able to crash for the rest of the day and start fresh tomorrow. Ah, we're here."

They rounded a bend and for the first time since he was a kid, Francis saw his grandfather's farm. It was clear that the farm hadn't been used in a while. The field was completely overgrown with weeds, rocks, trees, and other debris. He craned his neck a bit more and noticed that the small greenhouse had completely fallen apart over the years and as he looked, his grandfather's small house had weathered a bit. His stomach began to churn again, _'Oh, man… How am I going to pull this off…"_

Robin saw the look of worry on Francis's face, "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll take time to get used to. I was a little girl when your grandfather started his farm, he was exactly like you, no experience at all, but I'm sure you remember how successful his farm became over time."

Francis knew Robin was just trying to make him feel better, but it didn't really help. "Yeah…"

"Well, common," urged Robin, "Lewis is waiting," She started walking towards the house, with Francis trailing behind her.

They came to the door of the house and Robin knocked on the door, which promptly swung open. "Ah! Robin, I'm glad to see you bought our new farmer!" 

An older gentleman stood at the entrance of the door, beaming at Robin and Francis. "Well, come in, come in."

Francis followed Robin into the house and looked around. It was much emptier than it was once his grandfather used to live here. The house contained an open, single-room, with a bed to the left, the kitchen to the right, and some chairs and a table in the middle. A small corner of the room that offered any privacy was the bathroom. Despite everything looking clean, it still smelled a bit musty.

The old man smiled at him, "You must be Francis, son. Pleasure to meet you, my name is Lewis and I'm the mayor of the lovely village." Finished Lewis as he extended his hand which Francis promptly shook.

"Pleasure is mine, sir." Replied Francis.

"Don't call me that, you'll make me feel old… or older than am I." Said Lewis in response, earning him an eye roll from Robin, as she placed his bags.

Lewis sighed, "Your grandfather was a great friend of mine and was surely missed when he passed away. I was beginning to plan on tearing this property down when you gave me that call." 

Francis nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad I called, I need to get out of that city." 

Lewis agreed with that and waved goodbye to Robin as she mentioned something about renovation. But Francis wasn't paying attention. _'I was that close to losing my only chance of leaving the city? I'd better make the most of it."_

"Now, before I let you on your way, there are somethings I need to talk to you about." Which launched the two of them into a several hour discussion about housing, the town, and the farm. By the time he had finished and taken his leave, it was early afternoon and Francis decided it was a good idea to get a good night's rest. He walked onto the porch before retiring for the day when he noticed a sign, faded and worn. But even in the condition it was in. He knew that sign by heart.

"Settler's Way Farm."

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There you go, the second chapter! Thank you very much for your time! 


	3. Chapter 3: They'll Do

Sorry for the wait guys, it's been busy with school and work since I've gotten back from camp. So, here's the third chapter of my story, please enjoy!

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Francis's alarm went off earlier than he would have liked. He tapped his phone to stop the ringing and swung his feet out of his bed. He looked out of the window, ' _Sun has barely risen...'_. Francis had set his alarm early to get a head start on taming the wilderness that was his grandfather's farm. ' _My farm now…'_

He threw on a pair of cargo pants and a plain, brown shirt. After he had a quick breakfast, he headed outside and after rummaging through the little shed on the side of the house. He was able to find an old scythe, watering can, axe, and pick-axe. ' _These are a little rusty, but they'll do until I can afford better equipment.'_

Francis grabbed the tools and started to tend to his farm. He spent an hour cutting down grass and weeds and removing small, fallen trees and branches. After wiping the sweat off his brow and found he had cleared a small plot, useable to farm. ' _It's a start'_ he thought, a small grin forming on his face, ' _I may be able to do this after all!'_

"Good morning Farmer Francis!"

Francis jumped and spun around to see the old mayor - Hughes? No, Lewis – approaching him with a large sack in his hands.

" I'm sorry, didn't mean to startle you," He said wearing a guilty smile. "I see you already started working on your farm. Good, good. Anyway, I won't keep your attention, but I bought you these turnip seeds to help you start off." Said Lewis as he handed Francis the sack.

"Oh! Thank you! You didn't have to do that." Blustered Francis, but Lewis just waved him away.

"Don't think on it, we all need a push in the right direction. Anymore seeds that you need you'll have to purchase from Pierre's. I recommend finishing up here and heading to town to introduce yourself."

Francis nodded as Lewis waved goodbye. He looked at the sack of seeds in his hands and the rest of the farm. _'Well, I'm not going to be able to clear this all in one day and I have a section ready to be planted.'_ So, he got to work planting. It took him a few hours to plow, plant, and water all the seeds. By the time he finished he checked the time on his watch, _' It's almost 1 P.M. I should take a quick shower and introduce myself to the town.'_


	4. Chapter 4: The Town

Here's the long awaited chapter four! I'm going to try and get back into this again!

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After he had finished washing up, Francis stepped out of the shower and dried up. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked to his room and put on fresh, clean clothes. Taking another look at the clock, he'd spent longer in the shower than he had initially planned to. _'Damn, it's almost 2 P.M.'_ He grabbed his keys and walked out of his house, locking the door behind him and started down the dirt path to Pelican Town.

Francis spent the better part of the afternoon walking around town and introducing himself to all the townsfolk and stopping at various places. He made a mental note as to where the important places were like _Pierre's_ , Harvey's clinic, the saloon and where his neighbors' houses were. As he walked along the street, he scowled at the sight of the _Joja Corp_. store in the distance and avoiding it, checking out the museum/library and the smithery instead, where he would have to go to eventually upgrade his tools.

A little more walking and he came across where Robin and her family lived, he was pleased with how nice her husband, Demetrius and daughter Maru were. During his quick stay he thought he saw something move out of the kitchen and when he looked, he didn't see anything. With an awkward chuckle, Robin quickly explained that was her son, Sebastian, who was a bit of reclusive. After a while, Francis smiled and left.

Deciding he would continue up the path on another day, Francis made his way back home. On his way back, he approached a worn down, falling apart building that he had seen on his way to Robin's. Upon further inspection, he saw that it was boarded up and looked inaccessible. "That building isn't what it used to be, that's for sure."

With a jump, Francis turned around only to come face to face with the Mayor who laughed, "Sorry about that Farmer Francis, guess I should try not to make a habit of scaring you."  
With a sigh of relief, Francis returned the smile, "Nah, don't worry about it… but... what is this building?" He asked, turning to it again.

Lewis looked up at the building and sighed, "It used to be the old Community Center, it always being used by someone at some point and we had plenty of events here. However, time has a way and we gradually lost the funding and soon it started to fall apart, eventually I had to board it up." He said with a sad look in his eye, "Nothing can be done about now really… But have a goodnight Francis, see you around town." 

With a goodbye and a nod, Francis watched Lewis walk away and decided to head back home, taking an alternate path. As he was walking, he spotted a playground for the couple of kids in the town and a fountain surrounded by several benches. On one of the benches she noticed a pretty blonde girl reading a book that she hadn't met yet. Approaching her and with a slight cough introduced himself, "Hi! My name's Francis nice to meet you." He said with a smile.

The girl looked up at him with an annoyed expression, "So you're that new farm boy." She said with a snobby tone. "I don't know why you would move here, it's so boring here. The city's _much_ better." The girl said, closing her book and stood up to leave, but looked at him briefly. "Haley" she said, abruptly introducing herself before walking back to where she lived.

Francis was taken aback by the rudeness of her, "Great… your typical city chick." He mumbled, coming to realize that this is the sister of someone he had met earlier, Emily. Finding it hard to believe they were related since Emily was so nice to him. With a shrug, Francis headed back to the farm where he did a little bit more work, before retiring for the night.

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There it is guys, the fourth chapter. I'm sorry it seemed rushed, but I was struggling on how to introduce characters and this seemed the best way to address the issue. I hoped you enjoyed it! And standby for the next chapter and possibly a new story!


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